XXII PERCESOCES 639 
Fam. 2. Ammodytidae.— Maxillary excluded from the 
border of the upper jaw; mouth protractile ; dentition feeble or 
absent. Lower pharyngeal bones separate. Praecaudal vertebrae 
without parapophyses. Bodycovered with very small cycloid scales. 
Pectoral fins nearer the ventral than the dorsal line; ventral 
fins, if present, widely separated from the pectorals, without spine, 
with 6 rays. Dorsal and anal fins more or less elongate, formed 
of soft rays. Air-bladder absent. 
The existing genera, Ammodytes, with 8 species, from the 
temperate coasts of the northern hemisphere, and Hypoptychus, 
from northern Japan, with a single species, are deprived of 
ventral fins, and their exact relations remained obscure until the 
structure of the Oligocene Cobitopsis revealed their affinity to the 
Scombresocidae, or at least their pertinence to the present sub- 
order. The Greater Sand-Eel or Launce (Ammodytes lanceolatus) 
and the Lesser Sand-Eel (A. tobcanus) are common on our coasts, 
and are remarkable for the manner in which, by means of their 
sharp-pointed snout, they bury themselves with great rapidity in 
the sand, darting in and out like arrows. 
Ss SS 
Fig, 390.—Cobitopsis acuta. (Restoration by A. 8. Woodward. ) 
Fam. 3. Atherinidae.—— Maxillary excluded from the border 
of the upper jaw; dentition more or less developed. Body 
covered with cycloid or ctenoid scales. Ribs attached to strong 
parapophyses. Pectoral fins inserted high up; ventral fins more 
or less approximated to the pectorals, with one spine and five soft 
rays; pelvic bones connected with the clavicular symphysis by a 
hgament. Two well-separated dorsal fins, the anterior small and 
formed, at least in part, of spinous rays. Air-bladder present. 
Carnivorous Fishes, mostly marine and of small size, much 
valued as food, and distributed along the coasts of most tropical 
and temperate seas; some inhabit fresh waters. A silvery lateral 
band, or “stole,” is usually present. About 65 species are 
known, referred to 14 genera: Atherina, Iso, Chirostoma, Thyrina, 
Atherinella, Labidesthes, Atherinopsis, Atherinops, Telmatherina, 
Neatherina, Pseudomugil, Rhombatractus, Aida, Melanotaenia. 
